The Ionia City Council heard the first reading of changes to an ordinance authorizing a continued millage for environmental clean-up at its meeting Monday night.

Proposed Ordinance No. 496 amends Ordinance No. 440 to continue a levy of up to 2 mills to be used for environmental purposes for five years. The ordinance also expands the use of the funds to cover costs associated with investigating, acquiring and cleaning up of properties the city might acquire in the future as part of its master plan.

Council approved Ordinance 440 in November 2006, after remediation costs of the Cleveland Street landfill went up and the state discontinued its remediation reimbursement grant program, City Manager Jason Eppler told council members. Ordinance No. 440 authorized the city to levy up to 2 mills to finance on-going remediation work at the landfill. That authorization expires at the end of the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2012, unless the ordinance is amended. The last millage authorized by the ordinance was .80 mills, included on the July 2012 property tax bill, which generated about $74,000 in revenue for remediation.

Since Ordinance No. 440 was passed, almost $650,000 has been raised to finance clean-up at the landfill. More than $1 million has been spent on landfill clean-up since July 2006.

The city also levies a debt service millage to retire bonds issued in 1990 to finance remediation at that time. This millage, which was approved by voters in 1991, is separate from Ordinance No. 440. This bond millage authorization will expire during fiscal year 2016-2017, when the bonds are retired.

“Although significant progress has been made at the landfill in remediating the site and controlling the costs to the taxpayers to do so, there is work still to be done, which justified amending Ordinance No. 440 and continuing to levy a millage to support this activity,” Eppler told council.

A public hearing on the proposed ordinance is scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 8 in the council chamber at city hall.

Council also heard the first reading of proposed Ordinance No. 497, which, if approved, will rezone the property at 524 W. Main St. from R-1 (single family residential) to O (office), so that the residence can be converted to professional offices for a counseling business. Eppler told council that the planning commission believes office zoning would provide a use transition between the commercial properties to the east and the residences to the west.